New York Mets Set To Face Another Top Pitching Prospect In Debut
The New York Mets will have their hands full tonight when they face off with Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Jameson Taillon in his major league debut.
The New York Mets had to face off with Los Angeles Dodgers top pitching prospect Julio Urias a little less than two weeks ago. Urias, who is the top prospect in the Dodgers farm system, is one of the top prospects in all of baseball, coming in at No.4 on MLB.com‘s prospect list for 2016.
The Mets were able to handle Urias, as he struggled in his debut. Now, they will be facing another top prospect making his MLB debut, as the Mets will face off with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jameson Taillon. Taillon let his excitement be known on his Twitter account about his impending debut.
Used to practice my autograph all day in middle school, and I would dream of making the call to my family and friends.
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) June 7, 2016
Crazy to think of how many people worked so hard with me and helped me on this journey! But, this journey is still just beginning!
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) June 7, 2016
Taillon is the 49th ranked prospect on MLB.com and fourth rated prospect in the Pirates farm system behind Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Josh Bell. He will be making his major league debut against the Mets tonight, as the Pirates needed an extra starter with the two teams playing a double-header yesterday, which the Pirates swept.
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Taillon has been someone people around baseball have kept an eye on for years, as he has been a top prospect for the Pirates since being selected No.2 overall in 2010. He made it Triple-A Indianapolis by 2013, but his progress stalled there.
Taillon had to undergo Tommy John surgery that year, missing the 2014 season. He would then miss the 2015 season as well as his rehab was derailed because of an inguinal hernia. With two seasons missed, there were questions about how Taillon would return, but he has returned to form thus far in 2016 as he looks like he has not missed a beat.
Taillon has dominated in Triple-A thus far this season. Through 10 starts, Taillon has a 2.04 ERA through 61 2/3 innings, striking out 61 compared to only six walks. Opponents are hitting only .196 against him, as he has a minuscule 0.81 WHIP on the season.
Taillon will bring two plus-pitches with him to the major leagues in his fastball and curveball. Taillon’s fastball is consistently in the mid-90’s and sometimes touches higher than that. His overhand curve gets him a lot of swing and misses and his a solid strikeout pitch. His changeup is solid as well, and should be at least major league average at this time according to MLB.com.
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That is what the Mets will be facing off with tonight, as Taillon will be making his much anticipated debut. The Pirates have waited a long time for Taillon to reach this point, so they will be excited to see him take the mound. The Mets will just be trying to scrap together a win, as they have lost nine in a row to the Pirates, and 11 of the last 12.